Close to half the Irish fans surveyed would like to see Declan Rice win the Premier League with Arsenal.
15:27, 16 Feb 2026Updated 15:57, 16 Feb 2026
Declan Rice playing for Ireland in 2018(Image: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo)
Declan Rice and Ireland football fans have a complicated relationship.
Rice burst onto the scene in an Irish shirt in 2018 having excelled for West Ham in the Premier League, and the youngster looked as though he was going to be a mainstay for the Boys in Green for many years to come.
Less than a year later, Rice had switched allegiance to England, and has gone on to make 72 appearances for the Three Lions, playing in both the Euro 2020 and 2024 finals.
These days, alongside his England career, Rice is a driving force in an Arsenal team that are looking to win the Premier League under Mikel Arteta for the first time since the Invincibles went undefeated in 2004.
Should Arsenal win the title this season, they will become the first team outside of Manchester City and Liverpool to win the Premier League since Chelsea in 2017.
And it appears as though plenty of Irish fans would like to see Rice and his teammates get the job done, with a recent poll conducted by Tonybet revealing that 43% of Irish fans want Rice to get over the line.
That subset of fans may have been a particularly forgiving bunch as based on the reception that Rice received when England took on Ireland in 2024, it seems plenty of fans haven’t forgiven him for defecting to England.